A Signature Engaged Learning Course
A student's journey to experiential learning opportunities begins in Learning for the World, a one-hour course in the Philanthropy & Public Service Program intended for first year students to discover opportunities to cultivate scholarly interests and address community needs through learning beyond the classroom and in service of the public good. This class illuminates various pathways to excellence for students who want to connect the transformational work they do in the classroom to opportunities for immersion, application, and engagement beyond it—locally and globally.
Faculty and staff from a variety of academic departments instruct students in how to envision their Baylor academic journey for the good of the world. Practically, students who plan to pursue research, fellowships & awards, and civic experiences through the Office of Engaged Learning are highly encouraged to enroll in the class.
Course Description:
This class is designed to help launch a student’s academic journey toward excellence in scholarship, leadership, and citizenship. It is designed to equip students with the pathways to orient their education toward human flourishing and to begin developing the purpose, character, and innovative mindsets that foster excellence together. In concert with academic reading and discussion, students will work together with local nonprofit organizations to learn about and begin to address real needs and persistent challenges in our community.
The primary goal of this class is to invite shared and sustained contemplation over the questions we tend too often to breeze past or perhaps even ignore when college makes us busy: Why am I here? Where am I going? What is college for? What am I doing and learning? Who am I becoming? Why does that matter?
In more practical terms, we are here to think together about what might happen—now, in these four years—as a direct result answering these questions. What are the things I ought to explore in the classroom? What are the things I ought to explore beyond it—in research, perhaps, or civic service, internships, study abroad, campus leadership, political involvement? How, in short, might I get the most out of my Baylor education, and toward what ends?
Learning for the World meets the Engaged Learning Arts and Sciences core curriculum requirement.